Department of Justice Rocked by Investigation [rdbrewer]

The United States Commission on Civil Rights released findings today that were highly critical of the way the Department of Justice handled the voter intimidation case that was brought against members of the Black Panther Party.

Lack of cooperation:

The report says the DOJ's "lack of cooperation" raises questions about the government' decision to dismiss most charges against the anti-white fringe group who wore military clothing as they stood outside a polling place in a black Philadelphia neighborhood in November of 2008. The document says the department did not completely address "serious accusations" made by former DOJ staffer J. Christian Adams and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Coates, the former chief of the Civil Rights Division Voting Section, about opposition in the DOJ to taking up voting rights cases against minorities.

Cover-up:

The implications found within the 144 page report issued by the non-partisan U.S. Commission on Civil Rights regarding the investigations into the New Black Panther voter intimidation case from 2008 appears to strongly indicate a cover up initiated by figures within the Obama Department of Justice, and quite possibly the White House itself. Within the context of this cover up, are found accusations of intimidation and non compliance within the Department of Justice throughout the comprehensive investigation.

Institutional racism:

At the heart of the investigation are allegations the Department of Justice aggressively prevented some within its own department from fully and fairly investigating the Black Panther voter intimidation case filed shortly after the 2008 presidential election. Page 85 of the report indicates members of the Obama administration felt the DOJ should primarily focus on charges brought on behalf of minorities, not against them – in essence, an institutionally approved and promoted form of reverse racism. When some DOJ officials raised concerns over this, they were, according to the details of the report, subjected to intimidation and marginalization by their superiors within the Obama Justice Department.

Congressman Darrell Issa's House investigation will undoubtedly uncover more of the details, but there is no guarantee he will get all of them. There remains a problem with executive privilege, the power of the president and members of the executive branch that stems from constitutional separation of powers. In this case, executive privilege could be used to resist subpoenas and the coercion of testimony. In fact, this has been at the heart of the DOJ's lack of cooperation all along.

Perhaps a good argument for the reauthorization of the Independent Counsel Act. Here is the full report (PDF).

Question: How is it that the independent, bi-partisan Commission on Civil Rights released its report on the ultimate Friday news dump day?

posted by Open Blogger at 08:29 PM

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